ESL Discussion/Conversation Questions

Here are several different topics and questions you can use in class or to start a discussion. Each topic has several different questions ranging in difficulty so it’s up to you to pick and choose and feel free to adapt them anyway you like!
Sometimes I copy and paste a few topics onto a PowerPoint and project them in class. The students can then alternate partners and answer questions together.

Animals

What’s your favorite animal? Why?
If you were an animal, what animal would you be? Why?
Are there any animals you don’t like/are scared of?
What is the smartest animal you know of? Why do you think so?
How do you feel about experimenting on animals?
How do you feel about zoos?
Do you have any pets? If not, would you like one?
Is it ethical to own “exotic” animals, like tigers and monkeys? Why or why not?
Should people be allowed to bring pets on airplanes? Why or why not?
What would you do if you were attacked by a bear?
What animal best represents you and your personality? Why?

Books

Do you like reading books? Why or why not?
What is your favorite book of all time?
Are there any books you would recommend?
What book genres do you like? Why?
Do you like going to bookstores or do you think buying online is best?
Have you ever tried reading a book in English? Why/why not?
If you were to read a book in English, which one would it be?
Do you prefer books or audiobooks?
Have you ever tried reading digital books?
Did you read more when you were younger, or do you read more now?
Do you think people nowadays read enough? Why or why not?
Is reading important or is it an unnecessary hobby?

Childhood

What do you remember about your childhood? Was it a happy childhood?
What were you like as a child?
Have you changed since you were a child? What has changed about you?
What do you remember about kindergarten?
What do you remember about primary school?
Who was your best friend when you were young? Are they still your best friend now?
When you were young what did you want to be when you grew up?
Do you keep in touch with your childhood friends? Why or why not?
What did you like as a child that you don’t like now?
What didn’t you like as a child that you do like now?
What’s your best childhood memory?
Do you have any brothers or sisters? Did you used to get along or did you used to fight?
Would you change anything about your childhood? What would you change?

Cooking

Who does most of the cooking in your home?
Do you like cooking?
When you cook, where do you find recipes? What are some recipes you have tried in the past?
Do you think cooking should be taught at school?
A lot of people believe women should do all the cooking at home. Do you agree or disagree with this?
Who is the best cook you know? How did they learn? Do you think they will teach you in the future?
Do you prefer eating at home or eating out? Why?
What is better, cooking or cleaning after eating? Which one do you prefer to do?
Do you have expensive cooking utensils at home? Do you have expensive appliances in your kitchen? What do you use them for?
What do you think about microwave food?
In the future, do you think anyone will cook or will we all be eating takeout? Why?

Dating

Are you dating anyone at the moment? How did you two meet?
Where is the place to meet people in your city/country? Bars, clubs, cafes?
Have you tried online dating? What do you think about online dating?
What are the most popular online dating websites that you know of?
Do you think social media is a good place to meet people romantically?
Some people I’ve talked to, met through Instagram. Is that a good place to meet other single people?
What are the pros and cons of meeting people through the internet?
What are the pros and cons of meeting someone face-to-face?
How do you think the dating scene has changed over the last few years?
How did your parents meet? Do they have an interesting story about how they met?

Environment

Do you think the environment needs our help to survive?
What kinds of pollution are there? For example: Air pollution
What activities contribute to pollution?
What are the best ways to help the environment?
Is your city clean or polluted? How so?
Do you think recycling is important? Why?
Do you think your community values recycling? Why or why not?
What should we do to save the endangered animals and stop them from becoming extinct?
Animal trafficking is a big problem, animals are taken from their habitat and used as pets. Why do you think so many people like to keep exotic animals in their homes?
Do you think being a vegetarian is good for the environment? Why/why not?
In your opinion, what can be done about factories dumping chemicals and waste into the ocean?
Do you think NGOs (non-profit organizations) can help stop pollution? Why or why not?

Family

How many people are there in your family?
What do your mother and father do?
Do you have many cousins? Do you get along well with your cousins?
Are you the oldest, the youngest or the middle child?
Is it better to have brothers and sisters or to be an only child?
Do you want to have children when you are older?
Do you like going on family holidays?
Is there anybody in your family you don’t get along with?
Do you want to follow in your parents’ footsteps? (Do you want to have the same jobs as they have?)
How often do you see your family?
Would you like to live by yourself, or would you like to live with your family forever?

Food

What’s your favorite food?
What’s your least favorite food?
What’s a food that you have never tried, which you would like to try?
Do you like international food? Why or why not?
What’s the weirdest thing you have ever eaten?
Do you like cooking? What do you like to cook?
Do you like baking? What do you like to bake?
Do you think cooking should be taught in school? Why or why not?
Do you think being a chef is a decent job? Why or why not?
Would you like to be a chef?
Have you ever hired a caterer? Would you ever hire a caterer for an event for example you’re wedding or a big party?
Is food important on vacation? Why or why not?
Have you ever gotten food poisoning? What happened?
If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Would you ever be a vegetarian?
Would you ever be a vegan?
Do you like to take pictures of food and post them on social media? Why or why not?

Gardening and Farming

Do you like gardening? What do/don’t you like about it?
Do you have any house plants? Why or why not?
Do you think everyone should have a garden?
Do you think everybody should grow their own food?
Do you think being a farmer is hard? Do you think they make a lot of money?
If you could, what food would you grow?
Do you think fresh fruit and vegetables taste better?
Have you ever grown flowers? Would you like to?
Do you think people that grow things are closer to nature?
Is supermarket food fresh?
How many flowers can you name? Do you have a favorite?
What are the best plants to have in a garden?

Gossip

How do you feel about gossip?
Is gossip popular at your school/work? Why?
Why do you think people gossip so much about other people?
Can gossip be a good thing?
Can gossip be a negative thing?
Has anybody ever said something behind your back?
Have you ever gossiped about other people? What did you say?
Is it better to say something to someone’s face or behind their back?
How can offices cut down on gossiping?
Is gossiping getting worse online?

Habits

Do you have any bad/unhealthy habits?
What good habits do you have?
If you could change your habits, what habits would you change?
Do you have healthy or unhealthy eating habits?
Do you like to exercise? Do you think it is hard to get into the habit of exercising?
A lot of people smoke. What do you think is the best way to break that habit?
Have you started any new healthy/unhealthy habits? Which ones? How did you do it?
Do you like to plan your days ahead of time? How do you plan for your days? Are your organized?
What do you think are the habits of successful people?
What do you think are the habits of unsuccessful people?

Hobbies

What do you like to do for fun?
What do you do on your free time?
Do you have any hobbies?
Would you like to turn any of your hobbies into a career?
How much time do you spend on hobbies per day or per week?
Do you think it’s a smart idea to spend money on your hobbies?
Have you met any friends through your hobbies?
Do your friends and family have the same hobbies as you?
What would you like to try in the future?
Have you ever given a hobby up? Would you like to pick it back up again? Why?
Are some hobbies better than others?
Are hobbies better for learning or relaxing?

Holidays

What’s the best thing about going on holiday?
What is your favorite holiday destination?
Do holidays need to be expensive?
What is the best way to save money on vacation?
Some people let go of their problems on vacation. Does your personality change when you’re on holiday?
Do you prefer city, beach, nature, or adventure holiday?
What other types of holidays can you think of?
Is it better to go on holiday with your family or with your friends? Why?
Do you like trying local food? Why or why not?
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Would you like to be a world traveler? Why or why not?

House & Life

Do you live in a house or an apartment?
How long have you been living there?
How many people live with you?
Do you prefer living alone or with your family? Why?
Would you like to change anything about your current living arrangement?
Can you describe your house to me?
What is there around your house? Are there any parks, supermarkets, schools etc…?
Is your home close or far away from your work?
What does your ideal house look like?
Would you prefer to live in the city center or in the countryside? Why?
Some people say, “Home is where the heart is.” What do you make of that expression?

Have you ever…?

Have you ever been to Paris? What did you do there?
Have you ever gotten your wallet stolen? What happened?
Have you ever gotten a bad present for your birthday? What did you get?
Have you ever been stuck in traffic? What did you do?
Have you ever stopped a bad habit? What habit did you stop?
Have you ever left your house without your keys? What did you do?
Have you ever lied to your parents? Why?
Have you ever stolen anything? What did you steal?
Have you ever skipped class? Why?
Have you ever overslept? When?
Have you ever seen a UFO? Do you believe in them?
Have you ever started something but then given it up? What was it?

Job and Career

What did you want to grow up to be when you were a child?
What do you want to study in university?
Is it more important to have a job you like or to make a lot of money?
Is having a work life balance important to you?
How many hours do you work/study per week?
Would you like to be a stay-at-home parent? Why?
What is the best way to get a promotion?
Would you like to be a manager? Do you think being a manager is a difficult job?
Do you like your boss? Why/why not?
Are there any jobs that you would love to do? What are they?
Are there any jobs you would hate to do? What are they?

Leadership

Do you think you are a good leader?
Do you think it is better to be a leader or a follower?
Would you like to be the manager in your job?
What qualities do you think leaders need to have?
Do you think good leaders are born that way or created over time?
How do you feel about your boss/teacher? Do you think they are a good leader? Why?
Have you ever taken leadership classes? Would you like to? Why?
Can you give me some examples of good leaders?
How about some examples of bad leaders?
Who is the leader of your household? Do you think they are a good leader? Why?

Learning English

How long have you been learning English?
Do you have any study tips? How do you study English?
What’s the hardest part about English: Speaking, Writing, Listening or Reading?
Do you think watching movies and listening to music is an effective way to improve your English? Why?
If you weren’t learning English, what language would you be learning?
Have you ever read a book in English?
What kind of English teachers have you had in the past?
Have you ever studied English online? What did you think?
Do you think Grammar is important when learning a language? Why/why not?
How many years do you think people need to study to be fluent in English?
Is it important to have perfect pronunciation when speaking English? What about grammar?

Music

What kind of music do you like?
Is there any kind of music you don’t like?
What do you think about heavy metal?
What do you think about classical music?
Do you play an instrument? If yes, what instrument do you play? If not, what instrument would you like to play?
What’s the most popular music in your country?
How does music make you feel?
Do you think listening to music is good for your brain? What about playing an instrument?
Could you live in a world without music?
If someone offered you a million dollars, but you could never listen to music again, would you take it?
What is more important in the music business right now, looks or talent? Why?
Do you still buy CD’s? Why/why not?
Do you listen to music on streaming services? What streaming services do you use?

Names

Who named you?
How was your name chosen?
What are the most popular names in your country? Why?
What are some examples of traditional and modern names in your country? Which do you prefer? Why?
Which of your friends has the most unusual name? Why?
English speaking parents can make up any type of name and/or spelling they want for their children. Is that true in your country? Why or why not?
If you have children (or if you will in the future), what names have you chosen? Why?
Do you like the idea of being named after someone? Why or why not?
If you could change your name, would you? Why or why not?
Do you have a nickname? If yes, what is it? If not, would you like one?

The News

Do you watch/read the news?
Where do you watch/read the news?
What news topics do you find the most interesting?
Is it important to keep up to date with the news?
Are there any news sources that you like more than others?
What do you think about “Fake News”?
Are there any news sources that you believe regularly churn out “Fake News”? Which ones?
Do you prefer watching national or international news?
Do you think young people or old people watch the news more?
Do you find the news depressing? Why/why not?

Obesity

Do you think that obesity levels have been increasing over the years?
Is obesity a big problem in your country?
What do you think is worse, childhood obesity or obesity in adulthood? Why?
Do you think the types of food we eat have changed over the years?
Do you think exercise levels have changed over the years?
Does today’s work culture contribute to obesity? Why or why not?
What are some negative health problems related to obesity?
What is the best and most effective way to lose weight?
What do you think about weight loss surgery? Is it an effective way to lose weight?

Parties

Do you like going to parties?
When you are at a party, do you talk to strangers or only people you know?
What was the best party you have ever gone to?
Have you ever thrown a party at your house? What was it like?
Do you think it’s necessary to drink at parties?
What kind of music do you like listening to at parties?
Do you prefer loud parties with lots of people or quiet parties with close friends?
What do you like to wear to parties?
Do you like birthday parties?
What kind of presents do you like to give at parties?
What kind of presents do you like to receive at parties?
Are parties a good place to meet a future boyfriend/girlfriend? Why or why not?

Personality

How would you describe your personality?
Are you a serious person or a laid-back person? Why?
Have you ever done a personality test? What did it say about you?
How would your best friend describe you?
Do you consider yourself shy or outgoing? Why?
If you could change anything about your personality, what would you change?
Do you think you have the right personality to be a salesperson?
Would you describe yourself as an ambitious person? Why/why not?
Who do you take after in terms of your personality?
Do you think people change over time or do you think people remain the same?
What personality traits do you most dislike?
What personality traits do you like the most?

Photography and Film

Do you like taking pictures? Why or why not?
What do you use to take pictures? A phone or a camera?
Is it better to take a picture or enjoy the moment?
Do you like taking selfies? Why or why not?
Do you post photos on social media? Why or why not? If you post photos, what types of photos do you post?
Do you think you need to buy an expensive camera to take good photos?
Is photography art?
Do you like making videos?
Do you like watching YouTube videos? What kind of YouTube videos do you like to watch?
If you were a YouTuber, what kind of videos would you make?

Podcasts and Audiobooks

Have you ever listened to a podcast?
Have you ever listened to an audiobook?
Some people like listening to an audiobook in the car instead of music. What do you think about that?
What kinds of podcast do you like to listen to?
Are podcasts an effective way to learn a language?
Are audiobooks better or worse than regular books?
Where do you listen to podcasts?
If you were to start a podcast, what would it be about? Do you think a lot of people would listen to it?

Plastic Surgery

Is plastic surgery popular in your country?
Would you ever consider getting plastic surgery? Why/why not?
What is the most popular procedure to get, in your opinion?
Do you think being a plastic surgeon is an excellent job?
Do you think famous people get a lot of plastic surgery? Why/why not?
Is plastic surgery an effective way to look younger?
Would you like to get plastic surgery when you’re older?
Can plastic surgery be dangerous?

Politics

Do you follow politics in your country? Why or why not?
Do you follow politics in other countries? Which countries?
Who is the most important political person in your country? Why are they important?
Do you always vote? Why or why not?
Is there anything you would like to change about the politics of your country or any other country?
It is often said that politicians are corrupt. Do you agree or disagree?
How many terms is the president (or prime minister) allowed to have? How many years is a presidential term in your country?
What type of leaders did your country have in the past?
Would you like to be a politician? Why/why not?
Do you think politicians should make more or less money?
Who is the most famous politician in the history of your country?

Reality TV

Do you like watching reality shows?
What do you like about them?
What do you dislike about them?
What reality shows have you watched?
Are they popular in your country?
What’s the most popular reality TV show that you know about?
Would you ever participate in one?
Would you ever participate on a survivor or adventure reality show? Why?
Are there any famous reality stars in your country?
What do you think about them?

Science and Technology

Were you good at science and biology at school? Why or why not?
Are you an “early adopter”? – An early adopter is someone who buys gadgets as soon as they come out. They like to be the “first”.
Do you like keeping up with the latest science and technology discoveries?
Would you ever be a scientist or researcher?
What would you like scientists to spend more time researching?
Do you like watching science related shows?
What are the five most important things ever invented in your opinion?
What would you like scientists to invent next?
Are math and science related?
Should robotics, science, technology, math, and engineering be mandatory at school? Why/why not?
Do you read any science related magazines, such as “National Geographic”? Would you like to? Why or why not?

What are the most popular social media platforms nowadays?
How much time do you spend on social media every day?
What do you like to do on social media? Read, look at photos, post?
Do your parents have social media? How do you feel about that?
Do you think spending too much time on social media is good for your mental health? Why/why not?
Is social media an effective way to get a job? Is it a smart way to promote a business? Why/why not?
Is it better to talk to people online or face-to-face? Why?
Do you think social media will be more or less popular in the future? Why?
Some people say that social media collects your data? Do you think that’s true? Why do you think it wants to collect your data?
If you could invent a social media platform, what would it be about?

Space

Do you think aliens exist? Justify your answer, please.
Would you like to go to space?
Have you ever felt the Earth was too small?
Do you think space travel will one day be a normal thing to do?
Are there any planets that you would like to visit? Why/why not?
Some people want to send people to live on Mars, would you go? Why or why not?
Is space infinite? If space is infinite, does space have an end?
Do you think space travel like Star Wars will ever be possible?
Do you think people will be living on Mars in your lifetime?
If aliens exist, are they smarter or simpler than we are? Why?

Tattoos and Piercings

Do you have any tattoos or piercings?
Would you like to get any in the future? Why?
If you were to get a tattoo or piercing where and what would you get?
Do you know any famous people who have tattoos or piercings? Who do you know?
Are tattoos and piercings popular in your country? Why?
Tattoos and piercings are getting increasingly popular. Why do you think that is?
Do you think there are any healthy issues that can arise from tattoos or piercings?
What would you do if you got a tattoo and you later regretted it?
I’d like to get a tattoo when I’m older. Do you think old people should get tattoos? Why?
Do you think getting a tattoo or piercing can hurt your chances of getting a job? Why?
Does anyone in your family have one? What do they have?
Do you think getting a tattoo hurts? Are you good at handling pain?
When getting a tattoo, should you do some research about the artist, or any tattoo shop is fine? Why?
Would you ever consider being a tattoo artist?
Are tattoos real art? Could they be in a museum exhibition next to Picasso? Why?

Technology

Do you like shopping for technology?
What devices do you have in your home?
What gadgets would you like to buy in the future?
Do you think gadgets are cheap or expensive?
What do you think about drones?
Do you have a Google Assistant or an Alexa?
Do you like reading articles or watching videos about new devices? What is something you have read or seen recently?
What do you think will be “The next Big Thing?”
Do you think people nowadays spend too much time in front of their devices? Why?
What are your favorite apps on your phone?

Toys and Games

What kinds of toys and games did you play with when you were a child?
Do you still play games? What games do you play?
Who did you play with when you were a child? Who did you play with?
Are there any differences between the games you played when you were young and the games you see children play now?
What toys do you think your parents and grandparents played with? Do you think they were fun?
Do you play video games or computer games? Why or why not?
Do you like playing board games? Who do you play with? What board games do you play?
Do you know any card games? What card games do you know?
Have you ever played UNO? How about monopoly? Did you like it?
What do you think about puzzles? How about chess? And checkers?
Are there any toys or games that you hate? Why?
Have you ever let anyone win on purpose? Why?
Are you competitive when you play games? Do you get frustrated when you lose?
Is there any game you wish you were better at? Which game?

Tradition and Culture

Do you have any traditions in your country or city? What are they?
Do you think it’s important for countries to preserve their traditions? Why or why not?
Do you have any traditional clothes in your country? What do they look like?
How about traditional food?
Has globalization and the internet affected your country’s culture and traditions? In what way?
Do you think that the new generations care about tradition? Why or why not?
Does your country have any particular traditions surrounding holidays?
What does a traditional house look like in your country?
Are there any cultural traditions that foreigners might be surprised about when they visit your country?
Do you think that rules about being polite are cultural? Or are those rules universal? Why or why not?
What does “cultural sensitivity” mean to you? Have you ever met someone who was “culturally insensitive?”
What types of cultures do you belong to? A specific country? Religion? Region of a country? How does your culture affect you?
Do you think it’s important to teach traditions to children?
Have you ever been to another country or region? What cultural traditions did you notice in those countries? Did they surprise you? Why or why not?

Traveling

Do you like traveling? Why or why not?
What is the best way to travel: plane, train, bus, or boat? Why?
Where have you traveled to, before? Where do you want to travel to in the future?
Would you like to travel to the USA? Why/why not?
What’s your next travel destination? Why did you choose it?
Are you an economical traveler or do you prefer to spend all your money?
Do you think everybody should travel? Why?
Some people say, “Life is a book and people who don’t travel only see one page.” What do you think it means?
Do you like to follow travel bloggers? What about travel YouTubers? What about travel Instagrammers?
How does traveling to other countries impact your life?
Do you think it’s important to respect other people’s culture when you travel, or should the residents adapt to the tourists?

TV Shows and Series

Do you watch TV, or do you use a streaming service? Which one?
What shows/series are you watching at the moment?
What kind of shows/series do you like?
How many hours do you spend watching shows/series every week?
Is there any show/series that you hate? Why?
What series are always on re-run in your country? (What series are constantly playing repeatedly on TV in your country?)
Is it important for you to own a TV? Why or why not?
Where do you watch TV series? On your phone, TV, laptop, etc.?
Do you have a preference about screen size?
Do you prefer American series, your country’s series, or another country’s series?
Do you prefer subtitles or dubbing when watching series?
What is the best streaming service in your opinion? Why?

Videogames

Do you play videogames in your free time?
How much time per day do you spend playing videogames?
How much is too much time to be spending on videogames?
Do you think playing videogames is a good hobby?
What do you think about videogame streamers on YouTube and Twitch?
Do you ever watch people playing videogames online? Where do you watch them and how often do you watch them? Who is your favorite?
Do you think people can make money playing videogames? How?
Are you good at using computers? Are you good at using technology?
A lot of children have access to technology exceedingly early in life. Do you think that is a good or a sad thing?
If you could make your own videogame, what would it be about? Spend some time thinking about it and try to give me an idea for a videogame.

YouTube

Do you like watching videos on YouTube?
What type of videos do you like to watch?
Do you like to listen to music on YouTube? What do you usually listen to on YouTube?
Are there any youtubers you like to watch? Who are they? What do they make videos about?
Do you think watching YouTube videos is an effective way to learn something?
Do you think watching YouTube videos is a waste of time? Why?
How many hours of YouTube do you watch per day?
Do you watch videos from your country or other countries? Which country’s videos do you watch the most?
If you were a Youtuber, what would your videos be about?
Do you think video editing is something you would like to learn how to do? How can you learn it? How long do you think it would take to be good at it?

2nd Conditional Questions

If you could choose any job, what job would you choose?
If you could have dinner with any celebrity, which celebrity would you choose?
If you could change anything about your life, what would you change?
If you could get one thing for free, what would you get?
If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would you eat?
If you could only stay in one country for the rest of your life, which country would you live in?
If you could only see one color, which color would you choose?
If you had to be an animal, what animal would you be?
If you could work/study anywhere in the world, where would you go?
If you could have any superpower, what superpower would you choose?

3rd Conditional Questions

If you could have studied something else in university, what would you have studied?
If you hadn’t gone to university, what job would you be doing now?
If you could have done something different in high school, what would you have done?
If people hadn’t invented the car, how would people get around?
If Americans hadn’t elected D. Trump, what would be different now?
If you hadn’t moved to the house/city/country you are in now, where would you have moved to?
If you had never met your current girlfriend/boyfriend, what would be different now?
If you hadn’t gotten your current job, what job do you think you would have gotten?

If you have any more topic or question suggestions, please leave a comment, and let me know!